RIYADH // A prominent Shiite cleric appeared in a Saudi court yesterday facing accusations he instigated unrest and sought foreign meddling in the country, a witness said.
Sheikh Nimr Al Nimr was arrested in July last year following trouble in the kingdom's Eastern Province, where the Shiite community is concentrated, and his trial before a special security court opened on Monday.
Yesterday, the prosecution read a list of charges against him including "instigating unrest" and "seeking foreign meddling", in a clear reference to Iran.
Sheikh Al Nimr was also accused of "supporting the rebellion in Bahrain", where a month of Shiite-led pro-reform protests erupted in February 2011 before they were suppressed in a Saudi-backed crackdown.
The court panel adjourned the hearing until a lawyer is appointed, according to the witness who requested anonymity.
Most of Saudi Arabia's estimated two million Shiites live in the east, where the vast majority of oil reserves lie. Shiites complain of marginalisation in the kingdom.
They first took to the streets in protest in February 2011 after an outbreak of violence between Shiite pilgrims and religious police in Medina.
The protests escalated after the kingdom's intervention in Bahrain.
Speaking in November 2011, after four Shiites were shot dead in Eastern province, Sheikh Al Nimr had demanded the "release of all those detained in the protests, and all prisoners of conscience, Sunnis and Shiites."
In a speech at the funeral of one of the protesters at the time, Sheikh Al Nimr said: "We are determined to demand our legitimate rights by peaceful means."
In a report published in May last year, Amnesty International said Saudi Arabia has arrested hundreds of Shiites, mainly men, but also children, since March 2011 for taking part in peaceful protests in the east.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO
English Premiership semi-finals
Saracens 57
Wasps 33
Exeter Chiefs 36
Newcastle Falcons 5
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
